The suspense lasted until the final hour. On Monday 9 November 2026, President Paul Biya signed the decree convening the electorate for Sunday 7 February 2027. On that day, Cameroonians will elect both the members of the National Assembly and their municipal councillors, just as they did in February 2020.
The date is no accident. Article 86 of the Electoral Code requires at least 90 days between the publication of the decree and the vote itself. To hold the elections on 7 February, Yaoundé had to act by Monday at the latest. Otherwise, a third extension of elected officials’ terms would have been unavoidable. MPs, whose mandate runs until 20 December 2026, and municipal councillors, extended until 28 February 2027, have already seen their terms prolonged twice.
These elections have indeed come a long way. Originally expected in 2025, they were first pushed back to 2026. Then last February, in his traditional youth day address, the head of state announced a « slight adjustment » to the calendar without giving a new date. Budget constraints and logistical difficulties at Elections Cameroon were cited, with the decision to hold both votes on the same day meant to keep costs down.
The same day, Paul Biya reappointed the top officials of Elecam’s Electoral Board for another four years. The election management body holds a provisional register of 8,238,778 voters and must now complete the revision of the lists, print ballots and deploy equipment across the country’s 360 municipalities.
Politically, the stakes go far beyond local governance. This is the first nationwide vote since the presidential election of 12 October 2025, after which the Constitutional Council declared Paul Biya re-elected with 53.66% of the vote, ahead of Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the FSNC, credited with 35.2%. Tchiroma claimed victory and later called for a boycott of the November 2025 regional elections, arguing they were run by contested institutions.
In power since 1982, the RDPC approaches this double vote with a clear goal. Meeting for a strategy seminar in Yaoundé on 22 July, the ruling party, led by its secretary general Jean Nkuété, set its sights on a sweeping victory for its candidates. The opposition, for its part, is changing tack. Absent from parliament after boycotting the 2020 elections, Maurice Kamto’s MRC has announced its return to the contest, while accusing the government of preparing public opinion for a victory already written in advance. The Union pour le Changement 2025 coalition aims to turn the energy of post-election protest into seats in parliament.
Parties now have a little under three months to draw up their lists, forge alliances and win over voters. On 7 February, polling stations will open at 8am. For an opposition hoping to finally carry weight in the institutions, as for a ruling party determined to keep its dominance, this vote will say a great deal about the state of Cameroonian democracy.